Self tensioning detachable luggage caster rollers



Dec. 13, 1960 o. BECK 2,964,329

SELF TENsIoNING DETAGHABLE LUGGAGE cAsTER RoLLERsI Filed Aug. 7, 1958 INV EN TOR.

United States Patent SELF TENSIONING DETACHABLE LUGGAGE CASTER ROLLERS oiga Beck, 60s W. 170th sf., New York, N.Y.

Filed Aug. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 753,676

z claims. (c1. zsm-79.2)

This invention relates to an attachable and detachable roller support for suit-cases, luggage and other units which are moved from place to place by manual eifort.

An object of the present invention is to provide means contributing to speedy coupling a rolling unit to one end of a suitcase, which will provide a plurality or set of ca'ster rollers, the caster rollers being preferably kept under tension so that each caster will remain in its selected position, and the entire set of rollers may be employed for large and small suitcases and for other and similar types of luggage and sample cases and like receptacles.

Marly devices have been placed in use for attachment to one end of a suitcase or other item of luggage, which includes a plurality of individual rollers or casters,l but in these constructions attachment must be made by a yskilled workman or at the factory. After a perso-n buys a' suitcase one may nd when loading books, tools, radios or typewriter equipment or heavy supplies, that the total weight of the loaded suitcase is too heavy to carry. The effort to carry such heavy suitcase may result in a serious or even fatal breakdown of a person.

This invention has further provision of means directed to the construction, installation and use of a combined elastic harness and caster roller set, which can be coupled to studs or pins previously attached'to an end wall or side Wall of the suitcase or luggage, and which will maintain the caster rollers in proper load carrying relation to the suitcase and in proper traction Irelation to each other, and which can be readily removed, without the exercise of skill.

Another object of the invention is to provide means affording two pairs of caster rollers each pair with an elastic harness connecting the bases of two caster rollers to each other, so that the outer end of the base of each roller may be located near the upright wall of the suitcase and may be coupled to a headed stud attached to the suitcase, whereby tension will be maintained at all times upon the two pairs of caster rollers to maintain them in secured coupled relation to the suitcase.

Another 4object of the invention is to provide means facilitating coupling of the elastic harness strap to the bases of plates of each pair of connected roller units, and further means for adjusting the tension or length of the harness straps, so that the load carrying rollers may be attached to suitcases of diiferent shapes and sizes, means being further provided for anchoring the harnessed rollers tothe suitcase or like carrier with great simplicity so that any person, man or woman, with little labor and skill can handle the roller units.

Yet a-n additional object of the invention is to provide a do-it-yourself type kit for installing the roller units of the aforesaid type on any existing article of luggage.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain new and useful constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, clearly deice scribed in the following'specication and fully illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which: 5 y

Fig. l is a view in elevation, showing the caster rollers in load supporting position under a loaded suitcase;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the suitcase, showing the two pairs of harnessed rollers in place thereon;

Fig. 3 is a top perspective View of a pair of caster rollers connected by a strap; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View through one of the stud connectors, which is attached to the suitcase shown on an enlarged scale. Y

Referring to the accompanying drawing, lll designates a suitcase of standard construction, which has a body 11, constructed with opposite main or side walls 12 and 13, a bottom wall 14and opposing end walls 15 and 16, to provide a holding chamber or body section bounded by these walls. On the side wall 12 a cover section 17 is connected by means of conventional hinges 1S, and this cover section includes top wall 19, end walls 2l) and 2l, and side Walls 22 and 23, respectively, oonne'cted t-o each other t-o provide the usual goods or sto-1'- age holding compartment space. A handle 47 of any type is connected to the cover top Wall 15. This construction is old and well known.

My invention comprises a pair of similar caster rollers 2'5 and 26, for attachment to the end of the suitcase body section 11, and another pair of similar caster rollers 27 and 28 for attachment to the cover section Yof the suit# case. In the present disclosure the caster rollers 25 and 26 are each formed with a base plate 29, on which the roller support bracket 36 is mounted to turn against ball bearings (not shown), and on this bracket a roller 32 is mounted to freely turn on a shaft 33, which is secured to the forked endsof the bracket 30, by heading the ends of the shaft. Each caster roller with its support has a free swivelling action on the base plate 29.

The outermost end 29a of the base plate is formed with a keyhole shapedV coupling opening 34, the larger circular part of this opening being located inwardly and the narrow slot 34a being located nearer the end of the plate 29. This coupling opening is adapted to be positioned around a stud 35, which is fastened to the end of the suitcase, and which is provided with a shank 35a and a collar 3512l to engage the outer face of the ,engaged end ,wall of the suitcase body. This stud 35 is secured, as by means of a screw 35e which is threaded into the shank 35 from the inside of the suitcase, after a hole has been previously made in the wall of the suitcase.

The plate is positioned so that the large circular part 34b of the coupling opening 34 is aligned with the head of the connector stud 3S; and the plate is tlien dropped over the stud and then pulled inwardly according to ar: row A, so that the narrow slot 34a will engage the shank of the stud connector.

An elastic webbing strap 36 connects the inner or confronting ends of the plates of the caster rollers 25 and 26 to each other; and to assist in harnessing of the two caster rollers 25 and 26 to each other, the inner end of each base plate 29 is formed with a transverse coupling slot 37, which may be formed with an entrance slotl o r opening 37a, thereby dividing the bar which forms `the bounding edge of the slo-t 37 into opposing cantilever arms 3S and 39. The elastic webbing 36 is arranged so base plate 29 similar to the base plates of the roller casters 25 and 26, having on its outer end 29a a keyhole coupling opening 41, and on its inner end a T-shaped coupling slot 42, as in the plate construction previously described. The outermost plate end 29a of the roller caster 27 engages a connector stud 43, attached to the cover section of the suitcase and the plate 29 of the roller caster 28 engages a connector stud 44 also attached to the suitcase cover section. These studs are constructed as previously described with reference to stud 35.

The roller casters 27 and 28 are harnessed to each other by means of the elastic webbing strap 45, constructed in the manner previously described, and including the buckle or slide 40 for adjusting the service length of the strap.

The elastic harness straps maintain pressure against the stud connectors attached to the body and the cover section of the suitcase, and prevent turning of the caster base plates on the suitcase, while the double harness coupling of the caster set permits of easy attachment and easy detachment of all caster rollers.

In moving the suitcase so equipped a handle 47 is attached to the suitcase on the opposite end to that equipped with the casters, and this handle may be of any type, and is secured by a terminal screw or fastener (not shown) at each end thereof. This handle is of the non-folding type, so that a positive grip may be maintained on the suitcase and it may be easily steered over the pavement or on the door of a depot or other place.

Due to the harness attachment of the casters, any person may quickly equip his or her suitcase with a complete set of casters of sufficient capacity to support any portable luggageunit, and may roll the unit from place to place, with minimum physical effort, and without danger of being overworked in so doing.

This invention provides a simple means for adjusting the length and service tension of the elastic harness strap.

It is seen that by this invention any person may readily equip a suitcase, trunk or similar piece of luggage, as a sample case, with caster rollers, which may be readily detached and again attached in place. The only permanent connection placed on the luggage or suitcase would be the stud connectors, which are attached by using an auger or other simple hand tool rst to bore the receiving holes, and then fitting the female element of the double screw in the hole and then clamping this female and stud carrying element in place by threading a machine type of screw into the female thread and clamping it in place. For the latter purpose a screw with a shallow winged head may be used, to dispense with the need for screw drivers.

These external stud connectors do not interfere with the use of the suitcase or luggase, when it is carried about lightly loaded, but are always in place for quick assembly of the harness connected caster rollers. As suitcases and similar luggage items vary in length, it is good practice to locate the connector studs near the ends of the suitcase, so that the caster rollers will be separated as far as possible, the elastic harness straps provide a simple automatic take up for this variation resulting from the use of the same caster roller harness set on suitcases of different sizes.

Various changes and modifications may be made with out departing from the spiritV and scope of the present invention and it is intended that these modifications and changes be embraced by the annexed claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a suitcase having a body section constructed with capacity for holding articles and a cover section constructed with capacity for holding articles hinged on one longitudinal side to the body section to close against the body section, with a pair of studs mounted on the body section and provided each with a shank projecting outwardly of the body section and a head which is larger than the shank, the studs being spaced longitudinally from each other, a pair of similar studs mounted on the cover section and spaced longitudinally from each other and so arranged that the cover section may be freely opened and closed without removing the studs, a pair of caster plates, each plate having a keyhole slot with an enlarged portion for receiving said head and a narrow portion having a width less than the dimension of said head, the narrow portion of each of said slots engaging the shank of the studs of the body section so that a corresponding head of said studs will interlock the plates to said studs, a pair of similar caster plates similarly interlocked to the studs of the cover section, a caster wheel mounted to freely turn and swivel on each plate remote from said narrow portion, and an adjustable elastic strap coupled to the confronting ends of each pair of plates and holding the engaged plates against their engaged studs to prevent and resist displacement of said plates, and to permit adjustment of the casters to suitcases of different sizes.

2. The combination of a suitcase having a body constructed with capacity for holding articles, with two pairs of studs mounted on said body, each of said studs being provided with a shank projecting outwardly from said body and having a head of larger diameter than that of said shank, each pair of said studs being aligned and equally spaced longitudinally from each other, a pair of aligned pairs of caster plates each plate having a keyhole slot, each said keyhole slot comprising an enlarged por tion for receiving said head and a narrow portion having a width less than said larger diameter, said narrow portion engaging a corresponding one of said Shanks of said studs of said body, so that the corresponding head of each of Said studs interlocks said caster plates with said studs, a caster wheel mounted on each of said plates and remote from said narrow portion for free rotation and swivel movement thereon, and an adjustable elastic strap coupled to the confronting ends of each said aligned pair of plates and forcing said plates with their narrow keyhole slots 'against their stud shanks, thereby to prevent and resist displacement of said plates and to permit adjustment of the casters to a suitcase of different size.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,454,282 Holbrook May 8, 1923 2,159,857 Mix May 23, 1939 2,174,661 Hope et al Oct. 3, 1939 2,373,328 Morehouse Apr. 10, 1945 2,424,641 Swanson July 29, 1947 2,683,609 Altemus July 13, 1954 2,789,828 Gary Apr. 23, 1957 2,848,732 Huff Aug. 26, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,117,176 France Feb. 20, 1956 676,355 Great Britain July 23, 1952 252,466 Italy Mar. 19, 1927 501,767 Italy Nov. 25, 1954 

